Europe is so desperate for housing that there are already people asking for rehabilitating factories like houses

More than the progress of the economy, unemployment, emigration, politics or corruption. If there is something really We are worried To the Spaniards, something that takes away our dream, is housing. The CIS says it in Your latest barometerbut it is something that is perceived in the street: only a few weeks ago tens of thousands of people mobilized in almost 40 cities to show their discontent anger precisely because of the escalation in the price of houses, with rentals Beating records and the cost of m2 Nailing with the values ​​prior to the real estate bubble.

With that backdrop (which It is not exclusive from Spain) There are those Believe That part of the solution to the housing crisis is right before our noses: the thousands of square kilometers of unused industrial areas distributed throughout Europe.

“Urban Regeneration”. Proof that housing worries, in Spain (and many other countries), is that every time studies, comparative and statistics are published that either put the thermometer to the sector or venture to propose solutions. Does A few months It was done by the Systemiq company with a report that insists again and again on the potential of the “Urban Regeneration” To alleviate, at least in part, the housing problem of Europe, where prices in cities They have climbed until hinder access to homes.

And what does “urban regeneration” understand? “Transforming infra -utilized land and obsolete buildings into compact and dynamic places to live, work and do business,” he explains The study Before stressing that it is “a strategy that could relieve the housing crisis in Europe and at the same time revitalize its cities.” That last nuance is not accidental. The company recalls that it grows above all the interest in housing located in urban environments, which leaves cities in the face of the challenge of finding the ground with which to cover the demand.

A fact: 19,000 km2. Systemiq’s study is just that: a study. With their biases, strengths and weaknesses. However, it is interesting to approach an approach that over the last years It has sounded In the sector and even big promotions residential And it is among other things because it provides some illustrative figures. According to the authors of the report, in Europe there are approximately 19,000 square kilometers of “abandoned industrial land” and between 200 and 300 km2 of offices “available for conversion in attractive areas”.

All this, the firm recalls, while in Europe you seek precisely new developments. “The demand for housing in dynamic cities is booming, just like that of mixed and alternative spaces, such as coexistence developments or new types of work spaces,” The technicians add of system.

Enough for more than 10 years. “The appropriate locations for urban regeneration could satisfy most, if not the totality, the demand for new buildings provided in Europe for the next 10-15 years and would save cities about 20% of the planned infrastructure costs,” The report abounds. Its authors even throw themselves with some calculations and projections in the future, although without specifying how they get to them.

In his opinion, “a fraction” of that wide area, around 300 square kilometers of empty offices and commercial premises and between 1,000 and 1,500 km2 of “vacant lots”, to meet the European land demand for a decade or decade and a half view. The key would go to allocate to spaces for housing and commerce. The report It also estimates that during that same period a total considerable investment would be reached that would be around four or six billion.

Is it a new proposal? No. The country appointment For example, a 2024 JLL manager report that identifies 20,529 km2 of wasteland in Europe that could be used for that purpose. “His analysis suggests that the re -urbanization of a small part of those lands in the region would create between 713,750 and 1,247,500 new homes,” Comment to the newspaper Laura Nolier, from the Ginkgo firm. A few years ago the organization Habitat for Humanity He also performed A study in which he explored the potential of empty spaces to face the lack of housing.

As remember The Archdily Specialized Website, Habitat technicians chose the United Kingdom as a pilot study area. His study ended up locating about 7,000 commercial and businesses in England, Scotland, Wales that were in the hands of local authorities and carried out without use for more than a year. Only empty office spaces could be transformed, according to their calculations, in more than 16,000 residential units. Commercial disuse spaces would give for 3,500.

Beyond the theory. Not everything is theory. There are public administrations and promoters who have already opted to give a second life to empty buildings. In recent years, both inside as Out of Spain They have converted into homes office buildings, quarters, temples, Factories of different guys either Wineries that they have ended up reopening like luxury residences. Any initiative has even gone further by raising the transformation of an entire industrial zone into a residential area, as is the case In Vallecas PuenteMadrid.

Are all advantages? No. Urban regeneration projects or give a second chance to industrial spaces and offices for homes to also face challenges. Both urban and architectural, normative and bureaucratic. In fact there are projects that directly They stay along the way and others end with a questionable result, such as Terminus Housein Essex, a rehabilitated office building as a block of floors. For frustration of his tenants, he ended up with tiny apartments and away from basic services.

Opportunities and challenges. “A change in land use may imply urban impact studies, municipal approval and compliance with specific regulations. Depending on the city, there may be restrictions,” warns in The country Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado, of the promoter Corporation Vía Agora. To those challenges are added the licenses, certifications, the need for technical studies, the possibility that the soil is contaminated and, the case, the adaptation of constructions that were originally thought for residential use.

Another key is the impact that these initiatives can have on the market and the risk that the conversion of industrial spaces triggers prices. “When there is a change of this type, the owners see an opportunity and raise prices or sell their properties to large investors,” warns The economist Sergio Nasarre, Professor of Civil Law at the University Rovira I Virgili (URV).

Images | Yusuf Unuk (UNSPLASH) and Mika Baumeister (UNSPLASH)

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